In the January season of prayer and fasting, Pastor Nana Boadum opens Luke 11 — "Lord, teach us to pray" — and shows that Jesus didn't stop at the Lord's Prayer. The midnight-friend parable that follows carries the principles of how prayer actually works: it isn't selfish, it demands your heart, it moves you to action, and it will cost you convenience.
The seven movements
- "Teach us to pray." Every rabbi taught his disciples to pray; the disciples watched Jesus withdraw to pray again and again and wanted His pattern. He gave them the Lord's Prayer — and then kept teaching through the midnight-friend story (Luke 11:1-4).
- Principle 1 — prayer is not self-centered. "Which of you shall have a friend…" The illustration isn't even about you. If 99.9% of your prayers are me, myself, and I, heaven's pattern is bigger: do you have a friend with a need? Start there — your Operation Andrew list is a good place (Luke 11:5-6).
- Principle 2 — your heart must be in it. "A friend of mine has come to me." Not "I'll keep you in prayer" politeness that never prays. The effectual, fervent — heartfelt — prayer of the righteous avails much. When the need touches your heart, your praying changes (James 5:16).
- Principle 3 — prayer prompts action. The host doesn't shrug; he gets up at midnight to find bread. Real prayer opens your mind to the Holy Spirit's ideas — the job lead to pass on, the résumé to actually send. You can't outsource your obedience to angels (Luke 11:5-8).
- Principle 4 — prayer is inconvenient. Midnight. The knock wakes a whole household and then inconveniences a second one. If you'll only pray when it's comfortable, you may never pray; embracing the discomfort is part of the lifestyle of 2026.
- Three loaves — spirit, soul, body. We are spirit, we have a soul, we live in a body — and prayer penetrates all three dimensions. Fasting guidance for the season: break lightly, don't "make up" for the fast at 6pm.
- Praying the word. The service closed in corporate prayer: healing for bodies, restoration for troubled minds, wisdom for students and professionals in the new semester, and mercy speaking over the house.
Walk away with this
Audit your prayer life with four questions: Do you have a friend? Do you care? Will you act? Will you accept the inconvenience? More principles continue in the next message of the series.